Reluctantly, Better than a Blue Eyes
by Cannibalistic Oreos
Summary: Mokuba knows his brother isn't one to show affection, but after a taste of it after Noah's defeat, he can't help but want more attention from Seto. But could that attention be just what Seto Kaiba needs? - Kaiba brother fluff; Not Incest; After Noah Arc


Round and round and round. I pushed my foot against the floor, making me spin again and again. Normally I didn't do things so immature, but this trip to KaibaCorp. Island was taking surprisingly long. And it was driving me crazy. So I continued to spin, regardless of what my older brother would have thought of me. And just like the chair, my mind was spinning. All that happened back in Noah's virtual world. That happened. That hug, those emotions, all from my older brother; those were real.

_I couldn't have gotten where I am without you, Mokuba!_

I reached out my hand and wrapped my fingers around the desk, bringing my spinning to a halt. My hair flew in the direction of my spinning before falling back to my shoulders, realizing that it was limited to my movement.

Seto was standing next to me, his arms crossed. Was he really going to pretend all that didn't happen? I didn't want that... I wanted that kindness to always be there.

"Uh... Big brother?" I turned my head up to look at him. There was no response aside from a grunt. I turned my head back to the desk, a bit nervous. But why should I be? He was my brother. "Are we ever going to...? I mean..." I trailed off, unable to choke out the words. My lip quivered.

"What is it, Mokuba," he snapped, not turning. His eyes narrowed. I suddenly felt insecure sitting next to him. I looked to my feet and bit my lip.

"About what happened with Noah," I muttered, my eyes hesitantly making their way back up to my brother.

"That didn't happen, Mokuba," he replied quickly, the anger showing in his voice. He kept his eyes out the windshield of the blimp. They narrowed further. "The memory of our step-father and Noah will be forgotten and left behind."

"Seto..." I muttered painfully, finally turning up to him. Suddenly, all my confidence bubbled up. I couldn't hold back any longer. I wasn't going to let this happen anymore! "You can't just forget about the past! That isn't going to change the fact that it happened!"

"Mokuba," he shouted, finally turning to me, "that is enough. Gozuboro is out of our lives, and so is Noah. We don't have to remember it."

"And what if I want to, Seto?" I shouted back, pushing the chair back and getting to my feet. I clenched my fists and looked him straight in the eye, as painful as it was. "I may have been brainwashed or whatever, but at least Noah treated me like a real brother!"

As much as that hurt to say, I meant it. Noah did treat me like a real little brother. He called me Moki, he held me in his arms, he protected me and I protected him. Something that Seto hadn't done since we were adopted. There was a silence then. Seto didn't seem fazed by my words, so I gave up. I sunk my head and pushed by him, chewing on my lip. If he didn't care, then I didn't care.

- - -

I didn't turn as my little brother stomped from the blimp's control room. I had just about enough of this stupid Noah situation. Noah wasn't our brother, and Gozuboro wasn't our father. Why was Mokuba so obsessed with that brat? Doesn't he realize that running this company meant that I couldn't act like a normal older brother? And if Noah were in my position, he would act the same.

_At least Noah treated me like a real brother!_

My fingers clenched and unclenched and I finally turned to the door. Should I go after him? Perhaps Mokuba was right. Sure, I have a business to run, but that doesn't mean... No, what am I thinking? Of course it does! To make this company a success we both had to, and have to, make sacrifices! Mokuba was just too young to understand that. I needed something to get my mind off of this, so I pressed the communication button and sent my voice booming through all of the rooms.

"Hey, Wheeler; I'm bored and in need of some cheering up. Meet me up in the duel arena and we can have a little fun. One of my blue eyes for your Ginzo- Although it's not like I'll even have to worry about parting with any cards when I'm duelling against a mutt like you."

The transmission ended with a fuzzy sigh and I held up my arm, my duel disk flipping into proper position. "Keep on course," I commanded to the pilots in the room. There was a unionised grunt and I turned for the door.

- - -

My face faltered at the sound of the challenge my brother had just sent. I was sitting in my room, laying face down on my bed. My heart was pounding in frustration. My eyes began to sting again, and I tried my best to hold them back. If my big brother was about to duel, then he would need my support.

I lifted up on my arms and went to get off the bed, but I quickly changed my mind. If he didn't need me as a brother, he didn't need me as a cheerleader, either. I threw myself back down and hugged against my pillow. Why did he have to pretend it never happened? Even if it didn't happen again, why couldn't he... at the very least... Accept that he felt that way and stop trying to deny it? Didn't he love me like I loved him?

The thought just made me feel worse, and I let out a loud sob into the fabric_. I hate this! I just want everything to go back to normal._ Why did our step father have to come to the orphanage that day? Why couldn't he have just stayed as a picture in the television? _He_ was the reason Seto was how he was now. "I...I hate you, Seto!" I screamed, tightening my grip.

- - -

The wind blew as we stood up on the top of the blimp. "I'm surprised you were willing to come, Wheeler," I snarled, ignoring the dweeb convention piled below. The base rose as I began to smile to myself.

"Whatever, Kaiba!" Joey shouted across at me. I wasn't really interested in paying attention, and I happily ignored him as he continued.

"Let's just duel, mutt," I snapped. "Draw your first pathetic card."

The mongrel did as he was told and tugged a card from the pile in his disk. "You're out of luck, Kaiba, I've already drawn my rocket warrior!"

The pathetic thing materialized on the field with a fierce look in its eyes. I smirked and placed a couple cards in the slots of my duel disk.

"I'll play these two cards face down before summoning X-head cannon."

The duel continued like any duel would. Joey set off a couple of my traps, falling right into my crush card combo. I was unimpressed, at the very least. His life points dropped to 300 and I smirked. "Tell you what, Wheeler. Forfeit now and I'll let you keep your pathetic card."

"No way, Kaiba," he responded, throwing a card on the disk's platform. "Now face my insect queen!"

I smirked with pride, turning like I always did to give a glance at my little brother on the side lines. But for who knows why, Mokuba wasn't there. I hadn't noticed until now, and I had to admit it took me off guard; so much so, my life points dropped by 200. I forgot to spring my trap card. No matter. There was still no way that this mutt would ever beat me.

- - -

It had been nearly an hour since the announcement had been made. I had just woken up from a tear-induced sleep. The room was still dark. My pillow was still dampened. I still felt fatigued. But chances were, my brother and Joey were still duelling, and as much as I didn't want to admit it, I wanted to be there for Seto. After all, an eye for an eye only makes the world blind. I couldn't expect him to lighten up from darkening down myself.

I plastered a smile on my face and slipped out the door. That's right! I had to teach him how to act towards me. If I wanted to be supported, then I had to support him! Yeah! My smile grew as I rushed through the halls.

This elevator ride felt like the longest one I've ever experienced. The anticipation was bubbling up in my veins. All I wanted was to be next to my brother. When the doors finally opened, I rushed in with a huge smile. But that faded quickly. Joey was winning! And Seto hadn't even summoned Obelisk!

I rushed over to where Yugi and the others were, my stance wide and strong. "Guys, what's going on? Why is Seto losing?"

"I don't know." Tristan answered, grinning a bit. "It's weird for Joey to win against Kaiba."

"Hey!!" Joey snapped, leaning over the bars, "Whose side are you on, Tristan?!" He turned back to my brother with a grin. "Of course I can take this snobby rich boy."

Seto's head didn't turn regardless of the outburst. _I wonder if he noticed me or not. _

"It's very peculiar, actually," Yugi began. He kept his eyes up on the duelling field. But for some reason, it wasn't the so-called Pharaoh that supposedly lived in Yugi's body. It was the normal Yugi- which was weird, because it was always the pharaoh that was out when there was a duel going on. Yugi wiped at his nose a bit with his finger. "Whenever I duel Kaiba, his first intention is to at least summon his blue eyes- Obelisk as of late. But even when his loss is just around the corner, he hasn't summoned either."

I turned back to Seto when I was done listening. He was now down to 400 life points with three monsters on the field. He could easily summon one of his blue eyes and win this duel. So why wasn't he doing it? I clenched my fists as Seto shoved a card into one of the slots.

"Seto!" I cried up at him. His eyes widened and he turned down, his face in shock. I grinned and nodded, sending my best wishes through my eyes. His mouth turned upwards and he turned back to Joey, a new fire behind his eyes.

- - -

It was like a power boost slipped through my body when I heart Mokuba's voice. It was almost like that sappy friendship BS that Yugi and his dork-party was always going on about. Although my opinion on it started to change when I felt my heart rate increase from Mokuba's support. It was then that I began to feel the weakening sensation of what I assumed to be guilt. I tried to ignore it as I tugged my blue eyes from between my fingers, but it was no use.

"Come on, Seto! Show him whose boss!"

The voice echoed through my ear drums and my brain. Why did that bother me so much? Of course he would be here. He always was! His support was... It was more than just...

"Helllloooo?" an annoying voice shouted at me. It smacked me in the face and I grumbled with narrowed eyes. "Is the greatest duellist ever scared he's gonna lose?"

"Of course not, but I appreciate the compliment," I snickered back. The blue eyes card was half an inch away from the base of the duel disk, when the voice rolled through again.

_At least he treated me like a real brother! _

That support.

_He's our brother, Seto!_

That confidence.

_Come on Seto! Show 'em whose boss!_

I had it all this time. I hadn't noticed it until now, but through all of it, I had the support I needed. And it was worth so much more than this.

"I forfeit."

- - -

The hollow grams disappeared and the base fell back to the ground. I still couldn't believe my ears. Why did my brother forfeit? After a bit of interaction with Joey, he returned to my side. I looked up at him, but he soon fell to his knees in front of me.

I looked him straight in the eyes and clenched my fists. "Seto! What's wrong? Why did you quit?" I waited for an answer, but all I received was a ruffling of my hair.

"Because I needed to thank you," he responded, taking his hand back and resting it on his knee. "You're more important than a blue eyes. You've been right here for me all this time and I never show any appreciation. I thought that made me strong, but it didn't."

"Seto..."

"The real strength is your ability to be so forgiving and so supportive to an awful brother like me." Seto's gaze faltered and he looked at his feet.

"Don't be silly, bro!" I shouted, jumping at him. My arms slung around his neck and I let my tears flow from my eyes. "You're the best brother ever! I don't want to be babied!"

And for nearly the first time since the adoption, he wrapped two, accepting arms around my body and rested his forehead in the crook of my neck. I could feel his breath as well as the wet sensation of tears. As unusual as this moment was, I wouldn't have traded it for anything. Nothing felt better than feeling Seto's support. I knew I would always have it, but there was nothing quite the same as a hug.

There was suddenly a loud, obnoxious sniffing behind me. Seto broke apart from me and pushed up to his feet. I spun on my heel to see a teary eyed Joey Wheeler.

"T-That was so sweet!" he sobbed, sniffing through an array of 'nyeh's. "Listen Kaiba," he began digging through his pocket. He pulled out a Blue Eyes White Dragon and held it out to my brother. "I don't need this- You should keep it."

Seto outstretched his own hand and took the card back, giving the New Yorker an understanding smile. "Thanks," he started, taking in a breath, "Joey."

My eyes narrowed with a smile and I looked up admirably at my brother. I was so happy to be where I was now. I wasn't sure how much longer this change was going to last, but I liked it while it was happening.

"Anytime, Kaiba," Joey snapped back. Him and the rest of his friends headed back for the elevator. Seto kept his eyes on the card while I watched everyone leave.

"Are you ready to go back downstairs now, Seto?" I asked, looking up at him. But he still seemed to be in a trance of deep thought.

"Mokuba," he began, straightening his arm, "I want you to hold onto this."

My eyes widened looking up at him. I nervously lifted my hand and pulled the card from his fingers. "But, why?" I choked, looking it over.

"So that you'll know that I trust you, even when I forget to show it. I'll take it back before every duel so I know I've got you there. Even if, for some reason, you aren't."

My eyes shifted back to him, and he was looking right back into mine. My face coloured and I nodded, slipping the card into my chest pocket.

"Now let's go back downstairs," he started, beginning to turn. My hand reached out, wrapping firmly around his trench coat. He turned back, a bit surprised. "What's the matter?"

"I've missed you, big brother," I muttered, stepping forward and wrapping tightly around his waist. "And even if this only lasts a day, it'll be my favourite day until the next one."

"Mokuba..."

- - -

I'd like to think something in myself changed that day. The next day was the same. We were scheduled to dock in 20 minutes, and Mokuba was following me around like a puppy. The more he did, the more annoying it got, and the more I wanted to turn around and ask him to leave me alone.

But that's when I remembered. That he wasn't following me to be a pain. He wasn't sticking next to me to distract me. He was there to support me. To be the one thing I could always count on. After all, now that my third blue eyes was resting in his vest pocket, his presence could make or break my entire duel.

- - -

Everyone had piled into our companies duel tower, and the finalists were choosing their doors. Right as Seto was about to take his first step in, I remembered.

"Wait, Seto!" I rushed over to the door and held out his card between both hands. "You'll need this." I flashed him a smile, and he returned it for a moment before sending me a wave of determinated anger.

"Thank you, Mokuba. I'm going to win this tournament for you, and for Obelisk."

Nah, nothing really changed at first glance. But deep down, my brother, Seto Kaiba, was completely different from then on.


End file.
